All DnD classes and subclasses - a player's guide

What are the DnD classes, and how do they work? When you create a Dungeons and Dragons character, the first and most important decision to make is which of the 13 D&D classes you want to play. Your class is the mechanical core of your character and dictates which skills you're best at, both in combat and while adventuring. This guide draws on our team's 70 years of combined D&D experience to explain all 13 5e classes (and subclasses) in detail.

Once you've chosen one of the Dungeons and Dragons classes, use our other expert guides to help get your 5e character game-ready. Choosing a species for your character is the next step - our complete list of DnD races has all the info you need. If you're using the new edition Player's Handbook, your chosen background is also very important - so read our DnD 2024 backgrounds handbook to find the right one for you.

The core DnD classes are:

How to choose a DnD class

DnD classes define what makes you an adventurer - whether that be a particular profession, faith, heritage, or lifestyle choice. You might choose a class because you like its description or because it fills a role in the party that you'd find enjoyable. If you're a new player, you might also want to choose one of the simpler classes to start with.

When choosing, also bear in mind what DnD classes the rest of your party plan to play. It's generally recommended that your group has a good spread of party roles rather than a bunch of classes that fill the same niche.

The D&D community also uses key terms to define a character's typical activities:

• Blaster - Spellcasters who deal area-of-effect damage that harms multiple targets at once.
• Control - Spellcasters who limit and control enemy movement to create advantages for their team.
• Defender - Classes that soak up damage and/or prevent enemies from attacking their allies.
• Face - Master of Charisma-based skills and social interactions.
• Healer - Classes that can restore hit points.
• Scout - Experts in stealth, navigation, infiltration, and trap-disarming.
• Striker - Masters of single-target damage.
• Support - Classes that buff their allies and debuff enemies.
• Utility - Classes with a varied toolkit of skills for non-combat situations.

See our DnD character creator guide for more tips.

What are the best DnD classes?

DnD classes are so varied that there is no single strongest class. Each is competent at very different things, and the best DnD class depends a lot on your play preferences. Some are more well-designed than others, but it's tough to say definitively which is 'best'.

That being said, here's our subjective 'DnD classes ranked' list for you, based on the classes as they appear in the 2024 Player's Handbook:

When do I pick my DnD subclass?

In the 2024 Player's Handbook, all DnD classes choose their subclass at level three. If you're using the older rulebook, your subclass is chosen anywhere between level one and level three, depending on your class.

For more info, read our DnD subclasses guide.

What is DnD multiclassing?

In DnD 5e, you can also play a 'multiclass' character - this means gaining levels in more than one class at the same time. On each DnD level up, you can simply choose to gain a level in a different class, rather than the one you started with. The only rule is that your character's core ability scores meet the minimum DnD stats requirement for the class you want to 'dip' into.

See our DnD multiclassing guide for a complete how-to.

Artificer 5e

Overview: The Artificer 5e is a tinkerer and a lover of DnD tools. Using powerful magical infusions, this class can create and bolster magical items and weapons that will really help your party pack a punch.

Strengths: Machines and engineering rarely feature in D&D games, so the Artificer offers a unique flavor you can't often explore with other classes. Its list of subclasses is varied, and each supports differing playstyles. Plus, thanks to your infusions, 5e spells, and craftable items, there are heaps of customization options.

Weaknesses: If you're a beginner player or someone who doesn't enjoy agonizing over small details, this class can feel overwhelming. Plus, the class' powers can sometimes feel situational, and relying on Intelligence limits their overall usefulness. The Artificer may also feel a bit wasted if your campaign doesn't pay much attention to (or even allow) downtime, crafting, and magic items.

Subclasses:

• Alchemist: These Artificers gain additional healing powers and the ability to create random extra potions on the fly.
• Artillerist: Between Fireball and your literal Eldritch Cannon, you're built to rain hellfire (and heaps of damage) upon enemies.
• Armorer: Don heavy armor and dive into melee with your beefed-up armor class and magical weapons.
• Battle Smith: Gain a mix of spells, martial prowess, plus a Steel Defender buddy to be your permanent companion.

We do know that a fifth and sixth subclass, the Cartographer and the Reanimator, are currently being playtested. Watch this space for more details as and when they arrive.

Sourcebooks:

• Eberron: Rising from the Last War: The original 5e source.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: The same info as Eberron, but brought into a non-setting-specific book.
• Eberron: Forge of the Artificer: Will include 2024 rules for the class, but it's not out yet (our DnD release schedule guide can tell you more).

See our Artificer 5e class guide for more.

Barbarian 5e

Overview: With their rage ability and higher-level subclass features, the Barbarian 5e has the potential to deal devastating damage in combat and is near-impossible to take down because, of all the classes, it has the highest hit dice.

Strengths: High hit dice and plenty of Rage mean the Barbarian is one tough cookie in combat. It's a satisfying experience to dominate the battlefield, as few classes can rival their damage output. Plus, the simplicity of the rules involved make this a great beginner class.

Weaknesses: Barbarians are far weaker in combat with ranged foes. Plus, since they dump utility-focused mental stats, they have very little use outside of battle. Their damage also scales fairly poorly compared with other martials like the Fighter, so they feel less impressive at high levels.

Subclasses: 

• Path of the Berserker: The angriest Barbarian, you can use your Rage to become an unstoppable, frenzied force.
• Path of the Wild Heart: A Barbarian with a special connection to the natural world, you gain your pick of animal-themed powers, from damage resistance to flight.
• Path of the World Tree: This Barbarian is connected to a multidimensional tree. You can use its life force for extra HP, or grab your foes with spectral branches.
• Path of the Zealot: A Barbarian fighting in the name of a god. You can infuse your weapon with holy power and heal wounds with your devotion.
• Path of the Ancestral Guardian: These Barbarians commune with ancient spirits who protect them, provide useful information, and even attack on their behalf.
• Path of the Battlerager: A Dwarf-only subclass that's known for its spiky armor and unusual agility.
• Path of the Beast: Can partially transform into a beast with extra-powerful attacks, additional movement, and the ability to curse their enemies.
• Path of the Giant: Grow large, throw axes that return like boomerangs, deal elemental damage, and even throw other creatures like weapons.
• Path of the Storm Herald: Create a stormy aura that can deal out buffs and damage that get better over time.
• Path of Wild Magic: When they Rage, these Barbarians trigger random magical effects. They're also handy for buffing friends.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook: The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses
• Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants: Includes Path of the Giant and plenty of Barbarian-friendly player options.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: Features two subclasses that haven't been updated for the 2024 rules yet.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Features two subclasses that haven't been updated for the 2024 rules yet.

See our Barbarian 5e class guide for more.

Bard 5e

Overview: Often referred to as the 'jack of all trades' of the adventuring party, the charming Bard 5e is a versatile class that can be a huge benefit to teammates, both in battle and in social interactions.

Strengths: Bards are masters of many different DnD skills and spells, which means they've heaps of utility in and outside of combat. They can be tweaked to fit whatever role your party is missing, and they can have their fingers dipped in many pies at once. Want to be the party Face but still feel powerful in combat? That's the Bard, baby.

Weaknesses: Many Bards can master a blade or hurl a Fireball, but they're still likely to be outshone by DnD classes specifically designed to do those things. Plus, the Bard isn't the easiest class to optimize. It's easy for new player's to misunderstand the class' core combat role and, rather than focusing on providing magical support, get stuck spamming Vicious Mockery when they run out of spell slots.

Subclasses:

• College of Dance: The power of busting a move makes you extra agile and capable of dealing devastating unarmed strikes.
• College of Glamour: Charm and frighten enemies with Fey magic while also buffing your friends.
• College of Lore: You know everything! That means lots of extra proficiencies, more spells, and improved odds on the dice.
• College of Valor: You can juggle martial attacks and spellcasting in combat, and your Bardic powers buff your battle abilities.
• College of Creation: Animate ordinary objects, create items out of thin air, and use 'motes of potential' to hand out buffs and damage.
• College of Eloquence: These Bards are extra persuasive, which means their Bardic Inspiration is more potent than ever, and they can debuff foes with a cutting word.
• College of Spirits: Reach out to ghosts for extra spells, buffs, and dice to roll.
• College of Swords: You're as good a fighter as you are a singer, and your Bardic Inspiration buffs your attacks.
• College of Whispers: This Bard's repertoire includes psychic damage, causing fear, and manipulating shadows.

A new subclass, the College of the Moon, is currently being playtested.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook: The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: Features two subclasses that haven't been updated for the 2024 rules yet.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Features two subclasses that haven't been updated for the 2024 rules yet.
• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft: Introduces the College of Spirits.
• Forgotten Realms Player's Guide: An upcoming book that features rules for the College of the Moon Bard.

See our Bard 5e class guide for more.

Cleric 5e

Overview: The Cleric 5e has been chosen by a particular god to act as their divine agent. Traditionally, the Cleric is seen as a party's supporter and healer, but a properly built Cleric is just as capable of excelling in other areas.

Strengths: With so many subclasses to choose from, Clerics can excel in most party roles. They're known for their incredible healing skills, but it's just as viable to create an offensive build and deal some impressive levels of damage. Plus, as Wisdom spellcasters, Clerics have excellent utility skills and a better chance of staying stable when it comes to the game's favorite saving throws.

Weaknesses: A lot of D&D players hear the word 'healer' whenever a Cleric is mentioned. This means that, regardless of your DnD character build, other players may expect you to focus on healing their combat-happy characters.

Subclasses: 

• Life Domain: You're the best dedicated healer that D&D has to offer.
• Light Domain: Your command of light can be used to buff, burn, and blind targets.
• Trickery Domain: Use illusions to gain buffs and control advantages on the battlefield.
• War Domain: You're great at attack and defense, both with magic and weapons.
• Arcana Domain: These Clerics learn extra Wizard spells and protect friends from magical effects. Plus, they're particularly powerful against enemies from other planes.
• Death Domain: This Cleric combines melee attacks with potent necrotic damage and spells.
• Forge Domain: Don some magical armor and weapons and charge into battle, dealing extra fire damage along the way.
• Grave Domain: These Clerics can use debuffs and empowered healing to maintain the balance between life and death.
• Knowledge Domain: These Clerics have a huge number of skill proficiencies, plus the ability to read minds and see visions of the past.
• Nature Domain: Command animals and plants to join your side, and charge into melee with heavy armor.
• Order Domain: Empower others, control enemy actions, and soak up hits in heavy armor.
• Peace Domain: These Clerics are all about buffing and protecting their allies rather than dealing direct damage to enemies.
• Tempest Domain: Lightning and thunder damage are this Cleric's bread and butter. They're beefy and great at striking foes.
• Twilight Domain: Twilight Clerics worship gods of the night and stars, and this gives them a jack-of-all-trades toolbox of buffs, damage, and utility.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook: The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: Features three (excellent) subclasses that haven't been updated for the 2024 rules yet.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Adds two subclasses that haven't been updated for the 2024 rules yet.
• Forgotten Realms Player's Guide: An upcoming book that features new rules for the Knowledge Domain Cleric.

See our Cleric 5e class guide for more.

Druid 5e

Overview: The nature-themed Druid 5e class is proficient at morphing into beasts, healing, and controlling the elements to turn a battle in your favor. While it's possible for Druids to deal serious damage with a claw slash or a burning Moonbeam, they're more adept at area control, allowing them to force foes into the path of their well-buffed adventuring pals.

Strengths: Druids are Wisdom-based spellcasters, which means they're hardy in the face of saving throws, and they're naturally adept with some valuable non-combat skills. Combine this with the Druid's strong and varied subclasses, and you've a highly versatile and replayable class. Whether you want to be a frontline fighter or a supportive healer, the Druid has options for you.

Weaknesses: The Druid's low armor class and health make it one of the squishier classes to play. DMs can be very particular about that 'no metal' rule when it comes to armor, too, so you're particularly vulnerable. Plus, while the Druid can access some truly awesome spells, many of them rely on concentration.

Subclasses:

• Circle of the Land: You can command nature to help you out in a fight, and your connection with a certain terrain type offers new spells.
• Circle of the Moon: A powerful all-rounder who can fight in Wild Shape and harness the varied powers of the moon.
• Circle of the Sea: Surround yourself with a damage-dealing tempest and cast heaps of storm-themed spells.
• Circle of the Stars: Different constellations enhance your combat abilities in a variety of ways.
• Circle of Dreams: Their ties to the Feywild give them teleportation, healing, divination, and ally-buffing powers.
• Circle of Spores: Fungal powers mean these Druids are buffed by spores, which they can also use to deal necrotic damage and resurrect the dead.
• Circle of the Shepherd: Animals and nature spirits can be summoned to help these Druids with healing, scouting, and battle.
• Circle of Wildfire: Gain a wildfire spirit summon that can protect you from death, improve your spellcasting, and deal fire damage on your behalf.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook - The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything - Offers two more Druid subclasses that haven't been updated for the 2024 rules.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything - Adds two more Druid subclasses that haven't been updated for the 2024 rules.

See our Druid 5e class guide for more.

Fighter 5e

Overview: A Fighter 5e is a specialized battle machine with more combat prowess than every spellcasting class put together. Fighters are entirely designed around combat, which means they feel great to play during battle. They get more attacks than anyone else, and they deal ridiculous levels of damage to single targets.

Strengths: Fighters are great options for new players who are still learning the ropes of D&D. That's not to say things can't get more advanced - there's a whole range of viable Fighter subclasses and character builds that add complexity. Fighters also have more ability score increases to play with, meaning you can shake things up even further by experimenting with 5e feats (or DnD 2024 feats, if you're using the new rules).

Weaknesses: While you're a beast in battle, you're not great at much else. Playing a Fighter in a campaign focused on investigation or social intrigue may leave you twiddling your heavily-armored thumbs. The DnD weapon mastery rules introduced in the 2024 rules will help add some variety to the class, but this is still a fairly one-note option.

Subclasses:

• Battle Master: A tactics expert, you gain all sorts of special maneuvers, from disarming attacks to ambushes, that will make martial combat far more interesting.
• Champion: The most Fighter-y of Fighters, your critical hits get more powerful and you get more of them, as well as near-unlimited re-rolls.
• Eldritch Knight: Why pick between the sword and the spell? With this Fighter subclass, you gain magical powers, firing off cantrips alongside your attacks.
• Psi Warrior: This Fighter is strong in body and mind. You may protect yourself with a wall of force, move objects with your brain, and force jump like a Jedi warrior.
• Arcane Archer: These Fighters imbue arrows with magic and use a variety of Arcane Shots to damage, debuff, and guarantee more consistent hits.
• Cavalier: Master mounted combat and defensive tactics that make you a serious threat to foes - and an even better friend.
• Purple Dragon Knight: These Fighters are traditional knights who excel at inspiring their fellow combatants.
• Rune Knight: Grow to a mighty size, and etch magical runes into your equipment that offer more damage and control options.
• Samurai: These Fighters are as swift as they are persuasive and disciplined - and they often attack with advantage.
• Echo Knight: Create echo copies of yourself that allow you to teleport and attack from ridiculous ranges - you can basically be everywhere at once.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook: The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Adds three subclasses not updated for the 2024 rules.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: Only offers one additional subclass that hasn't been updated for the new rules, but it's a good one.
• Explorer's Guide to Wildemount: Introduces the Echo Knight.
• Forgotten Realms Player's Guide: An upcoming book that features new rules for the Purple Dragon Knight.

See our Fighter 5e class guide for more.

Monk 5e

Overview: The Monk 5e class is the martial arts expert of the D&D world. Their discipline gives them a supernatural level of focus, which is represented mechanically by Focus Points. Spend these wisely, and the Monk becomes an agile, versatile, and incredibly formidable martial class.

Strengths: Monks may not always hit hard, but they hit often, getting multiple attacks earlier than most martial classes. Plus, when your DnD weapons are your hands, you're never unarmed - something that can be useful in social scenarios or when the party gets captured. As Monks require strong Wisdom, Dexterity, and Constitution, you'll easily resist the common saving throws a DM throws at you. Spellcasters beware.

Weaknesses: In the 2014 Handbook, the damage Monks deal can feel a little puny. Their Focus Points (formerly Ki) were the main event of the class, but they were also a surprisingly scarce resource, leaving the class feeling lackluster as a whole.

The 2024 Player's Handbook fixes a lot of these issues, but whatever version of the Monk you play, their armor class and hit dice leave them particularly squishy. They get few proficiencies, and they're heavily reliant on three stats, which is challenging for new players to optimize and often rules feats out of a viable build.

Subclasses:

• Warrior of Mercy: This Monk wields the power of life and death. You can heal with one hand and harm with the other, even raising the dead at high levels.
• Warrior of Shadow: A rather Rogue-like Monk, you cloak yourself in magical darkness, attacking from a shadowy shawl of your own creation.
• Warrior of the Elements: The elemental Monk is massively upgraded in the 2024 rules. You can blast your opponents with far-reaching elemental strikes and gain rocket-powered flight.
• Warrior of the Open Hand: This Monk is a master of unarmed combat. You can use your fists to trip or shove enemies, jump around like a ninja, and heal yourself with good, clean living.
• Way of the Ascendant Dragon: Channel draconic energy to deal elemental damage, frighten foes, and even grow wings.
• Way of the Astral Self: Gain extra spectral body parts that enhance your attacks, skills, and defense.
• Way of the Drunken Master: These Monks move like drunkards, but don't underestimate them - they're particularly agile and unpredictable.
• Way of the Kensei: Kensei Monks master weapons as well as unarmed strikes, and they're formidable when wielding both.
• Way of the Long Death: These terrifying Monks use their understanding of death to siphon life from others and keep themselves standing.
• Way of the Sun Soul: Gain blazing ranged attacks that burn foes with blinding light.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook: The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Adds three subclasses not yet updated for the 2024 rules.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: Adds the Way of the Astral Self.
• Fizban's Treasury of Dragons: Adds Way of the Ascendant Dragon.

See our Monk 5e class guide for more.

Paladin 5e

Overview: The Paladin 5e is a charismatic class that combines divine spellcasting with good old-fashioned melee fighting. Their high Charisma means they often take on leadership roles, juggling the party face role along with healing, damage, and defense. A Paladin is only truly a Paladin when they have taken a holy oath and pledged themselves to a divine god.

Strengths: The Paladin excels in both striker and support mode, with strong damage and healing options in equal measure. They hit hard, they heal hard, and with chunky AC and armor proficiencies, they can tank pretty well too. Surely there's nothing a Paladin can't do?

Weaknesses: Ranged combat - that's one thing Paladins can't really do. They also aren't known for their stamina. Paladin spell slots and the majority of Paladin features all replenish on a long rest, meaning they can feel a bit feeble when facing multiple combat sessions in a single day.

Plus, Paladin players have a lot of ability scores to juggle. Strength and Charisma are the absolute bare minimum, with Constitution also playing a major role in your build. When your class can do everything, you've got to build carefully to avoid getting spread too thin.

Subclasses:

• Oath of Devotion: This Paladin fights for justice and honor. Your weapon glows with holy powers, and your powers protect your allies from all dangers.
• Oath of Glory: A Paladin that's all about self-improvement. You can buff yourself and your friends with many boons.
• Oath of the Ancients: This Paladin loves the world as much as any Druid. As well as wielding nature-based magic, you never age and are very hard to kill.
• Oath of Vengeance: A very angry Paladin that likes to be in the center of any fight. Pick a target and take them down, dishing out extra attacks and damage against your chosen foe.
• Oath of Conquest: War, glory, and order are the realm of the Conquest Paladin, who uses fear, control, psychic damage, and smites to dominate others.
• Oath of Redemption: Use magic to protect your friends, and give hostiles a chance to listen to your persuasion before you punish them for evil-doing.
• Oath of the Crown: Heal and help friends while compelling enemies to face you in honorable (but deadly) duels.
• Oath of the Watchers: A jack-of-all-trades caster who's trained to deal with Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals, Fey, and Fiends in particular.
• Oathbreaker: Paladins who break their oaths use fear and hatred to fuel necromancy and potent attacks.

An extra subclass, the Oath of the Noble Genie, is currently being playtested.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook: The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Features two subclasses not yet updated for the 2024 rules.
• 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide: Features legacy rules for an Oathbreaker Paladin.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: Adds Oath of the Watchers.
• Forgotten Realms Player's Guide: An upcoming book that features new rules for an Oath of the Noble Genies Paladin.

See our Paladin 5e class guide for more.

Ranger 5e

Overview: The Ranger 5e is a hybrid class that has mastered exploration and the natural world. Part martial warrior, part scout, and part spellcaster, they can be versatile party members, able to provide ranged and melee damage, control spells, and heaps of utility.

Strengths: If you want a character that excels at exploration, travel, and tracking, there are few better options than a Ranger. They can access some excellent spells for support and area control, and a range of strong Ranger subclasses allows you to specialize in your favorite roleplaying activities.

Weaknesses: A Ranger is part Druid, part Rogue, and part Fighter - but it can be challenging to build a character that matches any of these classes in power. The problem with most 2014 Rangers is that they specialize too much. Some of the Ranger's main features can become far too situational, and a player can easily pick up tricks they'll never need to use in a campaign.

The 2024 version is far stronger, but fans still aren't keen on how much the class requires you to concentrate on Hunter's Mark over your other Ranger spells.

Subclasses:

• Beast Master: A Ranger who's bonded with a mystical animal who will fight alongside you in combat.
• Fey Wanderer: This Ranger is infused with the strange magic of the Feywild. You can frighten or charm foes, summon a fairy to fight for you, and Misty Step all about the battlefield.
• Gloom Stalker: This subclass is for Rangers who like to fight at night. You can see in the dark, start combats with deadly ambushes, and send enemies running with scary Shadowfell magic.
• Hunter: Keeping things real, this Ranger forgoes magical tricks for special moves that make you a more effective fighter.
• Drakewarden: These Rangers gain a draconic companion that becomes a more effective ally as the Ranger grows stronger.
• Horizon Walker: Tricksy teleportation and force damage are the main tools for these Rangers.
• Monster Slayer: Their extensive knowledge of monsters helps them single out targets, control the battlefield, and counteract magical attacks.
• Swarmkeeper: A swarm of tiny creatures performs tasks (and attacks) on your behalf.

Two new Ranger subclasses, the Winter Walker and the Hollow Warden, are currently being tested for upcoming D&D books.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook: The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Adds two subclasses not yet updated for the 2024 rules.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: Adds Swarmkeeper.
• Fizban's Treasury of Dragons: Adds Drakewarden.
• Forgotten Realms Player's Guide: An upcoming book that features rules for the Winter Walker Ranger.

See our Ranger 5e class guide for more.

Rogue 5e

Overview: As the name implies, the Rogue 5e is someone who doesn't necessarily worry about rules when pursuing their goals. They're happy to pick locks, skulk in the shadows, surprise enemies with a stab from behind, and smile to your face while they pick your pockets. A Rogue can play the role of scout, thief, or deadly assassin, depending on your preference.

Strengths: The Rogue's utility in and out of combat makes them a highly appealing class to play. Rogues are also capable ranged and melee attackers. Abilities like Sneak Attack make them formidable single-target strikers, particularly at low levels. Plus, their Cunning Action gives them more agility than anyone else on the field (except maybe the Monk).

Weaknesses: The cycle of 'hit then hide' that Cunning Action creates can feel a little repetitive at times. It can also be challenging to set up Sneak Attacks consistently, as they rely on your Rogue and other allies being positioned correctly or creating some sort of disadvantage for the target.

Rogues also suffer for being jacks of all trades, as it can also mean they're 'masters of none'. Their damage output quickly falls behind more combat-dedicated classes, and characters with a bulked-out spell list can serve as equally good utility classes, if not better.

Subclasses:

• Arcane Trickster: A magically enhanced Rogue with spellcasting powers. You can use a mystical Mage Hand for pranks, or even steal the spells right out of a Wizard's head.
• Assassin: The most murderous Rogue. You're all about attacking by stealth, using ambush and poison to dispatch your foes.
• Soulknife: A Rogue who can use the powers of the mind. You have all sorts of tricks, from altering your own fate, talking telepathically, or just stabbing someone with a blade of psychic energy.
• Thief: The 'classic' Rogue, gifted in all things burglary. You can climb any wall, spring any lock, and use any magic items carelessly left lying around.
• Inquisitive: You are a master of insight and investigation, and you can use your deductive powers to land more consistent Sneak Attacks.
• Mastermind: These Rogues excel in disguise and misdirection, and they're strong tactical supporters on the battlefield.
• Phantom: Gain new skills and deal extra damage by communing with the dead.
• Scout: Extra nimble and adept at ambushes (particularly in the wilderness).
• Swashbuckler: You're a charming scoundrel who's as quick with their tongue as they are with a sword.

A brand-new subclass, the Scion of the Three Rogue, is currently being developed and playtested.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook: The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Features four subclasses not yet updated for the 2024 rules.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: Adds the Phantom.
• Forgotten Realms Player's Guide: An upcoming book that features rules for the Scion of the Three Rogue.

See our Rogue 5e class guide for more.

Sorcerer 5e

Overview: Unlike other spellcasters, a Sorcerer 5e has their magic granted through natural means; their powers come from raw ability. This unusual entry into the world of magic grants them a particularly impressive ability - the power to edit a spell in their repertoire as they cast it. Sorcery Points can make your spells snappier, sneakier, or generally more explosive.

Strengths: When used well, a Sorcerer's Metamagic abilities can transform the state of a fight in a single turn. Being able to improve the speed, success rate, reach, or duration of a spell opens up a huge number of possibilities, and the Sorcerer is a class that certainly rewards creativity. These abilities can make Sorcerers one of the best damage-dealing spellcasters in D&D. Plus, thanks to their high Charisma score, they've got plenty of usefulness outside of a combat scenario.

Weaknesses: This is a fairly complex class that would suit only the most studious D&D newbie. You've got a limited spell list to work with, plus fewer spell slots than other spellcasters.

The other downside to note is the consistency of a Sorcerer. A truly powerful turn uses up a lot of resources, so you'll have plenty of cantrip-heavy and less exciting turns in between to make up for your explosive actions. And, given the lack of armor and puny hit dice, a careless Sorcerer can easily get downed before they've had a chance to change the tide of battle.

Subclasses:

• Aberrant Sorcery: You're a telepathic Psionics expert who, at later levels, can transform your body in horrifying and interesting ways.
• Clockwork Sorcery: You value balance and order above all, and you can use your powers to manipulate dice rolls and combat situations.
• Draconic Sorcery: Grow dragon wings! Be friends with a dragon! And gain a bunch of spells and resistances that are sort of related to dragons.
• Wild Magic Sorcery: You'll regularly roll on a Wild Magic Surge table filled with random outcomes, as your powers are too chaotic to be fully controlled.
• Divine Soul: Touched by the divine, you gain holy wings, Cleric spells, and the power to change the fate of your failed rolls.
• Lunar Sorcery: You gain an expanded spell list and the power to modify spells for cheap, but your abilities change with the phases of the moon.
• Shadow Magic: The power of darkness increases your fortitude, lets you slip through shadows, and gives you a shadowy hound companion.
• Storm Sorcery: Fly, control the weather, and deal heaps of thunder and lightning damage.

Spellfire Sorcery is a new subclass that's currently being playtested for a future 2025 D&D book.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook - The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything - Adds three subclasses not yet updated for the 2024 rules.
• Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - Adds Lunar Sorcery.
• Forgotten Realms Player's Guide - An upcoming book that features rules for the Spellfire Sorcerer.

See our Sorcerer 5e class guide for more.

Warlock 5e

Overview: The Warlock 5e is a Charisma spellcaster that formed a pact with an otherworldly patron, who in turn granted them bombastic spellcasting powers. Each Warlock has a different gimmick depending on the Warlock patron they've allied with. That could be a hellish fiend, a mischievous fey, or an unknowable horror from deep underwater.

Strengths: Being Charisma-based means Warlocks can easily become a passable party Face, and they've got so many customization options that none of your builds need to look the same. Warlocks are also a particularly popular multiclass option for players who want to maximize damage output (though this is slightly less true in the 2024 version of the rules).

Weaknesses: Despite their deceptively easy spellcasting, Warlocks are a mechanically complex class. Additionally, the Warlock's spell slots are limited, and the amount of short rests you'll get to replenish them is somewhat at the mercy of your DM.

Subclasses:

• Archfey Patron: Serving a powerful being of the Feywild, you can blink around with an enhanced Misty Step and deal psychic damage to attackers.
• Celestial Patron: This Warlock serves a holy Upper Planes being like a sphinx or unicorn. You get some of the healing powers of a Cleric and can smite with extra radiant damage.
• Fiend Patron: This Warlock goes the other way, serving a demon or devil. You get hit points for kills and can use the luck of the devil to alter rolls.
• Great Old One Patron: This Warlock serves an eldritch elder being. You get telepathy and a range of psychic spells.
• The Fathomless: A deep-sea being grants you tentacle summons, plus control over water, lightning, and thunder.
• The Genie: Choose one of four Genie patrons, each with their own unique spell lists, damage resistances, wish-granting powers, and magical genie vessel.
• The Hexblade: A pact with a Shadowfell creature means your Warlock is built for juggling melee combat and spellcasting as part of a powerful combo.
• The Undead: These Warlocks rely on necromancy, fear, and the power to transform into spirits and undead.
• The Undying: An immortal patron helps you cheat death with a mix of necromancy, healing, and the ability to re-attach your own body parts.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook: The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Adds the Hexblade.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: Adds two subclasses not yet updated for the 2024 rules.
• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft: Adds the Undead.

See our Warlock 5e class guide for more.

Wizard 5e

Overview: The Wizard 5e is a studious magical genius who can access more spells than any other D&D class. Armed with their unique spellbooks, they have a range of battle strategies at their weave-powered fingertips.

Strengths: Thanks to their varied subclasses and the huge number of spells they can learn, a Wizard can fill almost any role in a party. That being said, there are a handful of roles where Wizards really excel. Given just how powerful Wizards are when they focus on control, utility, or damage, specializing is a strength for them rather than a setback. Few other spellcasters can replicate their abilities, and if they can, they can't perform them nearly as often.

Weaknesses: Puny hit points, poor saving throws, and the worst hit dice in fifth edition all make Wizards particularly vulnerable. The complexity of the class may also be off-putting for some players. Managing your spellbook and spell slots requires plenty of thought, and the Wizard class is most rewarding when you've carefully planned for an encounter.

Subclasses:

• Abjurer: Deflect attacks with a powerful Arcane Ward, gain advantage on saves against spells, and cast powerful abjuration spells to control battle.
• Diviner: You gain access to Portent Dice, d20s that are rolled at the start of every day and can replace any standard d20 roll that's made.
• Evoker: Decimate your foes with aggressive elemental spells while ensuring your allies are protected from your waves of destruction.
• Illusionist: You gain extra summons to back you up in battle and illusions that help you stay on your feet.
• Bladesinging: These Wizards practice a style of magic that enhances their ability to wield a blade and lithely dodge attacks.
• Order of Scribes: You're so in tune with your spellbook that it can be used to modify the spells you cast from it.
• School of Conjuration: These Wizards specialize in conjuring handy objects or allies, and they can teleport with ease.
• School of Enchantment: Charm, hypnotize, and meddle with the memories of your enemies.
• School of Necromancy: You're extra-adept at stealing life from creatures to buff yourself and raising undead under your command.
• School of Transmutation: Transform both creatures and objects into something that better suits your designs.
• War Magic: A mix of evocation and abjuration prowess makes War Wizards great at offense and defense on the battlefield.
• Chronurgy Magic: Literally manipulate time to exert control over enemies, spells, and dice rolls.
• Graviturgy Magic: These Wizards alter gravity, giving them huge amounts of control in combat.

Sourcebooks:

• 2024 Player's Handbook: The latest version of the core class and four of its subclasses.
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: Adds two subclasses not yet updated for the 2024 rules.
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Adds War Magic.
• Explorer's Guide to Wildemount: Adds two strong subclass options not yet updated for the 2024 rules.
• 2014 Player's Handbook: Currently the only source for the four remaining subclasses tied to a particular school of magic.
• Forgotten Realms Player's Guide: An upcoming book that features new rules for the Bladesinger.

See our Wizard 5e class guide for more.

Psion 5e

Overview: The Psion 5e is fifth edition's first entirely new class since the Artificer, and it's currently in its first round of public playtesting. These adventurers are all about mind over matter, and their defining feature is a pool of Psionic Energy Dice, which can be spent to represent the Psion exerting their extraordinary mental energy. Though this class does have the potential to deal damage, it mainly focuses on controlling the battlefield.

Strengths: The Psion is an extremely thematic class with varied and flavorful subclasses to test out. With a pool of dice and a full caster's spell list to play with, this class has a huge number of resources to play with - even before higher levels make it easy to reclaim Psionic Energy Dice. The Psion's unique Wild Talent feats aren't super strong - but Cryokinesis is a stand out choice, giving you two free, decent spells to cast.

Weaknesses: So far, the first version of this class seems to lack seriously threatening damage outputs that scale well as they level. A handful of mid-to-high-level spells that deal psychic damage do not make a Blaster class. They are also a classic full caster, meaning they have little to no defenses when it comes to taking damage. The poor Psion doesn't even get Shield on their spell list to keep the martials at bay.

Subclasses:

• Metamorph - Mould your body into a literal weapon and alter the shape and material your body is made of to gain extra benefits.
• Psi Warper - Manipulate the world around you to your advantage, including by tossing enemies around with telekinesis.
• Psykinetic - Modify your psionic abilities to gain additional buffs for your group and debuffs for your foes.
• Telepath - Infilitrate the minds of others with ease, confuse your enemies, and use your mental prowess to boost your utility options.

Sourcebooks: We don't currently know what book the finished Psion class will appear in. Watch this space, though - we'll update this page as soon as we have more info.

Homebrew DnD classes

The 14 classes above are all the official Wizards of the Coast character class options supported in the core rules. But there's a vast number of unofficial and fan-created (homebrew) classes and subclasses constantly being created and shared by the DnD community. Here are a few of the more popular examples:

Blood Hunter 5e

The Blood Hunter 5e is a DnD homebrew class from the mind of Critical Role Dungeon Master Matt Mercer, but it's so popular that it received a write-up on D&D Beyond. Based in part on The Witcher, Blood Hunters sacrifice their own health - and blood - to use the power of hemocraft magic against evil.

If the Gloomstalker Ranger or Assassin Rogue just wasn't dark enough for you, here's your chance to mix martial and magic abilities with a bit of blood. With a careful character build, the Blood Hunter can be a powerful front-liner.

Emphasis on that careful character build. This is a homebrew class, and the balance is a bit off compared to the core classes. The Blood Hunter can feel great when optimized properly, but they're often less powerful than the party Wizard or Warlock.

Check out our Blood Hunter 5e guide to learn more.

Illrigger 5e

Designed by Matt Colville and the MCDM team, the Illrigger 5e takes a little flavor from many classes. Like Paladins, Illriggers swear an oath to use their might and magic to serve a higher purpose - only this time it's a particular archdevil. Like Rogues, they excel at manipulation. And like Bards they can use Dexterity, Charisma, and magic to their full advantage.

The class' defining feature is a resource called 'seals'. Illriggers can place one of these seals on an enemy (invisible to everyone but them) either as a bonus action, or when they land a successful weapon attack. Seals can be 'burned' to deal extra damage to the target at any time.

The Illrigger gains new ways to use their seals as they level up. Some debuff the target, while others can be expended to trigger explosive damage or control effects. Some seals can even be used to heal and buff your party.

The Illrigger is great for players who love having character building options. The class' action economy is also very generous, allowing plenty of extra attacks and abilities that cost nothing.

However, since an Illrigger can be a striker, healer, support, control, spellcaster, and tank all in one, they can step on the toes of the other classes. And even though the 2024 rules have upped every class' power levels, there's still  a pretty big power gap.

FAQ

Above we've looked at each individual class in detail, but with a topic so core to the Dungeons and Dragons experience, there are a lot more ways to slice it, and oodles of trivia and background info for fans to explore about their favorite classes to play. Read on for some handy answers to the questions we see most often.

What's the rarest DnD class?

According to the most recent available data, published by DnD Beyond in January 2024, Artificer is the least played class - so the 'rarest' class to encounter in a game. In that same report (based on DnD Beyond player stats from the year of 2023), the most played class, i.e. the commonest class, was Fighter.

In terms of rarity within the in game world, of course it will depend on which setting you choose to play in - some worlds may be rich in magic and give rise to many Wizards and Sorcerers; others may be particularly strongly connected to the Hells and produce more Warlocks than others; yet more alternative settings might be 'low fantasy' themed, and so may have few or even no magic users.

When it comes to the Forgotten Realms - D&D's main setting - official sources have varied in how they discuss how rare or common different character classes are. In general, however, DnD 5e publications tend to encourage DMs to allow players to choose any of the core classes they like, and adapt their character's backstories appropriately if there's a reason to think that, for example, Paladins would be few and far between in the specific world, time, and location your campaign takes place.

What's the most aggressive DnD class?

The most aggressive, combat focused DnD class is undoubtedly the Barbarian. As a 'Barb', your role is simpler and more focused than most classes: you're a tank and a melee damage dealer. All your strongest abilities - especially your core Rage mechanic - focus on attacking hard and often, and drawing enemy attention away from your squishier teammates.

What's the weakest DnD class?

In the current DnD 2024 rules, the Rogue is generally agreed to be the weakest in terms of overall damage output. While the 2024 Player's Handbook gave every class a power boost versus the original, 2014 5th edition rules, many fans agree that the Rogue's glow up was least impressive.

While the new Weapon Mastery system helps out Rogues a fair bit, their best combat abilities are still held up by saving throws, and their limited access to spellcasting via specific subclasses puts them far behind the pack.

With that said, it's important to remember that any analysis of a class's strengths or weaknesses is totally relative to the specific game you're playing - the makeup of your party, the setting you're in, and the enemies you're facing. A Rogue can absolutely be a damage dealing powerhouse in the right conditions - so never let generalized math and averages dissuade you from playing the character you want to play!

And that's it for our complete rundown of the Dungeons and Dragons 5e classes, for now! If you have a character build you'd like to workshop, join us in the Wargamer Discord, where we regularly discuss our Dungeons and Dragons games.

Alternatively, our many up-to-date rules explainers can also help you through your latest campaign - try our breakdowns of the important DnD languages you need to understand and the six DnD sizes for creatures.